


Idiots Part II

by JadeMoon



Series: Idiots [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Dumbasses, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Missed all the signs, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 06:38:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19203931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeMoon/pseuds/JadeMoon
Summary: Agent Thirteen isn't new to SHIELD, she's been with them for more than half her life. She's made every effort to NOT make friends because people suck and they stab you in the back the first chance they get. She's been quite successful until she gets stationed at the Avenger's compound. There, things start to unravel for her and she finds herself breaking her own rules. Rules she put in place to protect herself. She's caught off guard by the one and only Captain Rogers and things just spiral from there.They're both idiots. You'll see. Then we may add a third idiot, but Barnes is by far the brightest of the three.





	Idiots Part II

Steve kicks the chair under the desk and growls as he leaves the conference room. Things did not go as he’d planned with Hayley. He just wanted to talk to her, alone, in private, and clear the air. Tell her he didn’t mean to say the dumb shit about _he should have said no_ or whatever the hell it was that he said. He can’t even remember now.

But she was so goddamn cold and stony to him. He had hoped - foolishly - that it was just because Natasha was there. When Nat had left and she maintained that rigid demeanor...Steve didn’t know what to do except let her go.

He trudges to his quarters and tells FRIDAY he’s not to be disturbed unless it’s an emergency. The only one who will disregard that is Buck and he’s the only one Steve wouldn’t mind bothering him. Or Hayley.

Hayley.

Why is this so goddamn hard for him? What is it about her that he either can’t be professional or he can’t keep his foot out of his fat mouth?

The professional part is easy. He wants to be friends with her. She’s funny. She’s got this sassy wit and the way her green eyes sparkle when she’s joking with him makes him feel like he’s more than just the shield. When she started calling him Steve (finally) he figured she was seeing beyond Captain Rogers/Captain America and seeing him. Talking about the movies, the little quips they made. Then when she came back to help him when he was injured...god he had not at all expected that. But it was sweet and she even told him to feel better knowing full well he’d recover a hell of a lot faster than a regular man would. She showed caring. She showed it even more when his head felt like it was going to blow off. Jesus Christ.

He sits down at his desk and pulls out his sketch pad and absently begins to draw as he thinks about last night. How she had run her fingers through his hair. How her nails felt as they gently ran over his scalp, how it tingled and soothed. How cool her hands are. He still doesn’t know how she thought to apply pressure to his forehead like she did. He also doesn’t know why she didn’t wake his ass up when he fell asleep. They’d made a few more jokes and he had made her laugh. He likes how her eyes crinkle at the edges when she really laughs.

He doesn’t hear the knocking on his door until it about comes off its hinges.

“Open the door, FRIDAY, before Barnes kicks it in,” he tells the AI. The door unlocks and Bucky walks in looking confused. Normally Steve would make a crass remark about that, but he’s not feeling it right now.

“I was told you holed yourself up in here,” he says walking over to the desk. “Things didn’t go as you planned, Steve?”

“No.”

Bucky hovers around the desk looking at the newest sketch Steve’s done.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve drawn her...is it?”

Steve flips back a few pages and shows him the sketch he did from the day in the gym. She’s unwinding the tape, her hair pulled back and a few wisps dancing around her face.

“When was this?” Bucky asks as he studies the sketch.

“When you and Clint were in Belgium.”

“Hmm. Do you draw Nat?”

“Hell no!”

“Me?”

“Now why the hell would I draw your scruffy ass?” Steve demands. Bucky grins.

“Don’t be mad because my hair is nicer.”

“Oh here we go,” Steve gripes and throws his hands in the air. Bucky howls with laughter.

“She’s in the courtyard,” Bucky says as he comes down from his laughing fit.

“What?”

“Courtyard. Go talk to her. Stop acting like you don’t like her.”

“She’s a friend, Buck. Like you. At least that’s what she’s supposed to be.”

“Yeah, but you don’t draw me like your French girls,” Bucky says and then ducks when the sketch book comes sailing at him.

“Get out!”

“Go talk to your girl,” Bucky laughs as he leaves.

“Goddamn asshole,” Steve mutters as he gets up to leave. Hayley’s just a friend. Should be just a friend. That’s all it is. He wants to apologize to his new friend for being a dick.

He trots to the elevator and impatiently waits for it to take him down. It takes forever for it to get to the main floor but once it does he’s speed walking toward the courtyard hoping to bypass anyone who might impede him getting to Hayley.

====================================================================================

Hayley wipes her eyes for the umpteenth time and heaves a shaky sigh. This has to stop. Why is she so upset over this guy? It’s not like she’s going to be around forever here. Hell, it’s only a matter of time before she gets reassigned to some other random location. So why is he so under her skin?

She can’t answer that question.

She sits with her leg tucked under her and watches the butterflies dip and float around, their pretty blue wings accentuating the flowers they touch. She doesn’t see Rogers till he’s practically on top of her.

“No. Wait. Don’t run off,” he orders when she gets up. That’s _exactly_ what she was about to do - run off.

He closes the gap between them and then just stops. She can’t bring herself to look at him.

“Hayley, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m an asshole who says shit I don’t mean.”

This was way out of the realm of the expected and she looks up at him in astonishment.

“What?” she gasps.

He takes a deep breath and she can see he’s struggling almost as much as she is.

“I said whatever I said last night, but I didn’t mean it. As soon as it came out I knew it wasn’t right and I didn’t mean for it to be said--”

“You should have told me no.”

“That. Yes. I mean no. No, I shouldn’t have told you no. Fuck. I mean...Jesus Christ,” he growls and squeezes his eyes shut. “I never meant to say that I should have told you no. I didn’t want to tell you no. I wanted to lay down and everything that happened after that...I’m sorry, Hayley. I really am,” he says slowly. He opens his eyes cautiously like he’s waiting for her to explode.

“Why did you say it? If you didn’t mean it--”

“I’m an idiot.”

She sputters out a laugh.

“I really did not mean it, Hayley. I swear to you I didn’t. That was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me when I’ve felt bad. I wouldn’t wish that away or regret it,” he says softly. Hayley’s resolve is gone now. Looking into Steve’s pale blue eyes that are filled with hurt over this killed her resolve. Any chance she had of keeping to herself and not letting anyone in has vanished.

“Please say something, Hayley.”

“What do you want me to say?”

He sits down hard on the bench, clasping his hands between his knees and lowering his head.

“Hearing you at the debriefing...the way you spoke to me...even with Natasha there, I just...I’ve seen this other side of you, Hayley. I like this other side of you, the one that jokes and won’t tell me if she likes a stupid movie and thinks _Alien Resurrection_ was a good film--”

“Don’t start with me, Steve.”

He looks up, eyes full of hope.

“Friends?” he asks reaching for her hand. She gives it to him and he pulls her over to the bench where she sits down next to him. He doesn’t let go of her hand, though.

“Friends, Steve,” she tells him.

“You’re a damn good agent, Hayley, and I want to get to know you. But I really think you’re wrong about _Alien--_ ”

“So help me, Rogers, if you don’t stop your shit,” she tries to threaten him. He laughs.

“I’m free for a while. I have _Signs_. Come watch it. I want to know what you think.”

“Won’t people be suspicious if they see me hanging out with you?” she asks. It’s a sort of test question. She won’t fault him for his answer regardless of what he says.

He shrugs.

“People will talk if they want to talk. If you would rather watch in my quarters we can do that. I mean...if you want. Or yours…” He’s panicked himself. She squeezes his hand.

“I have weapons training that I’m already late for and I’m supposed to go see Maria which I haven’t done either.”

“I have weapons training later. I can go with you now, we can do it together and then when you’re done with Maria maybe you’ll come over and we can watch that damn movie.”

She thinks this over. He nudges her with his shoulder and gives her a sweet smile. All common sense leaves her.

“Sure, why the hell not. Are you supplying the popcorn?”

================================================================================

Steve runs up to his quarters and nearly barrels over Bucky trying to get to his door.

“What the hell?” Bucky yells.

“Sorry.”

“Is there a fire? Do you have to take a massive shit? I mean...what the fuck?” Bucky continues. Steve scowls at him.

“I need to clean.”

Bucky’s eyes widen and that shit eating grin appears. Steve groans. Bucky puts his arm over Steve’s shoulders and walks with him back to his quarters.

“So you talked to her.”

“Yes, Buck. Why are you torturing me?”

“Torturing you? You do that well enough on your own, kid. I just sit back and watch.”

“Such a jerk,” Steve mutters.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. What happened?” Bucky asks as they go inside Steve’s place.

“I apologized and made a joke about her taste in movies--”

Bucky cringes.

“She laughed,” Steve continues. “We’re still friends and she’s supposed to be coming over after she’s done with Maria to watch a movie with me.”

“But you’re just friends.”

“That’s what I said.”

“But you don’t draw your other friends.”

“Jesus Christ,” Steve whines as he starts tidying up. “Do you want me to draw you, Buck? Is that what this is about?”

“Sure. Make me pretty like you do her.”

“Are you jealous?!”

The two men stare at each other for a few moments before they both start to laugh.

“You’re such an asshole,” Steve laughs.

“Took lessons from Sam.”

Steve laughs that much harder.

“So she’s coming over to watch a movie. What if she’s seen hanging out with you?” Bucky asks. There’s a smug look on his face and Steve is seriously considering punching him right now.

“I hang out with you and Sam and no one says a damn thing.”

“We’re all _dudes_.”

“No more TV, Buck. Or hanging around the Parker kid. Tony was right, this pop culture shit is out of control,” Steve gripes. Bucky starts laughing again.

“Don’t change the subject, wiseass.”

“I hang out with Nat and Wanda--”

“Alone?” Bucky asks skeptically.

“No, but--”

“There’s the difference, kid. I’m not trying to deter you. You like her--”

“As a friend,” Steve says cutting him off. “That’s all we are.”

“Okay,” Bucky says with a shrug. This is too easy. Steve narrows his eyes at Bucky who just shakes his head.

“I’ll let you clean. Just remember, denial isn’t just a river in Egypt,” Bucky tells him as he pulls the door shut.

“Asshole,” Steve mutters as he goes back to cleaning up. He wants the place looking at least somewhat decent for Hayley. He doesn’t want her thinking he’s a slob.

==============================================================================

Hayley has been with Maria Hill for almost four hours. Four grueling hours of intel nitpicking and file scrounging. Hayley is not only tired, she’s starving. Her stomach is growling every few minutes in protest to not being fed yet.

“Didn’t you eat today?” Maria asks after the nine hundredth time her stomach makes a horrible noise.

“Didn’t have time.”

“You sound like you swallowed a dinosaur.”

“I’m hungry enough to eat one,” Hayley admits. Maria laughs. It’s unsettling at first because Maria is known for her poker face and never breaking character.

“We’ll call it for the day. I expect you to be back tomorrow after you’ve finished that code cracking course.”

“Another one?” Hayley groans. Maria gives her the side eye.

“You’re good, but you need to keep honing your skills. We need someone here who is a jack of all trades.”

“I’m not...I’m not staying, Agent Hill. This is a temporary assignment. You brought me in--”

“Indefinitely,” Maria interjects, “which means that while you’re here you may as well get something out of it.”

The _indefinitely_ part sends a chill down Hayley’s spine. Not what she was expecting to here.

“Good agents are a luxury we can’t afford to pass up. Especially when working with the Avengers,” Maria continues. “Go eat. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Hayley isn’t hungry anymore. She exits the room she’s been in and heads back to her quarters. No, she reminds herself, this is still temporary.

She’s so lost in her thoughts she doesn’t notice Steve getting off the elevator.

“Hayley.”

“Captain Rogers.”

His shoulders slump when she calls him this. She looks around and nods towards the other recruits. He shrugs as if it doesn’t mean a damn thing.

“Did you just get finished?” he asks as they step into the elevator.

“I did.”

“Still feel like watching that movie? I ordered pizzas. One extra cheese, one pepperoni. I can get something else if you don’t like those,” he offers. He seems giddy. She’s amused by this.

“Those are fine. How much do you think I eat?” she asks giving him a questioning look. Steve’s lips pucker.

“I’m not...I didn’t think you’d eat a lot...I…”

“Settle down, Steve,” she says patting his arm and laughing, “I’m kidding.”

He sighs in relief.

“Why are you so antsy?” she asks as they get off the elevator.

“I’m not.”

“This is the most tightly wound I’ve seen you so far,” she says calling his bluff.

“You should see me on a mission if what Buck and Sam say is true,” he tells her with a grin. She laughs.

“You better be careful, Steve. Being that tightly wound can cause you to snap a gear or rupture a spring or…”

“Or?” he asks. He’s baiting her. He opens the door to his quarters and lets her in first. It smells so much like him and that heat immediately floods her again.

“Or blow your O-ring.”

Steve bellows laughter, hand going over his heart, head back, just rocking with it. Hayley is so amused by him that she starts to laugh.

“Nice,” he says once he settles down a bit. “Are you hungry?”

“Starved actually,” she admits. He looks pleased to hear this.

“Take your shoes off and get comfortable. Do you want cheese or pepperoni?”

“Can I have one of each?”

“You can have whatever you want. What do you want to drink?”

“What are you having?”

“Scotch.”

“Jesus,” she mumbles. He emerges from the small kitchen, eyes wide.

“No Scotch?” he asks. She makes a grossed out face. He laughs.

“Water, please.”

“I have Mt. Dew?”

“Are you asking me? I don’t know what the hell is in your fridge, Mister.”

Steve snorts at her and that playful grin gets that much grinnier.

“What do you like to drink?” he asks.

“Juice, water, iced tea, hot tea, bubble tea--”

“Bubble tea?”

“Bubble tea,” she repeats, “amaretto, Frangelico, vodka…”

“Scotch?”

“Ew. No, if I wanted to drink something that tastes like ass and turpentine I’d go to the hardware store.”

“You’re drinking the wrong stuff, Hails.”

He called her Hails. He doesn’t even seem to realize it.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. You can keep your assy paint thinner drink.”

“Drinking the wrong stuff,” he tells her as he goes back into the kitchen. He comes back a few minutes later carrying the two pizza boxes, a bottle of gatorade, a bottle of Scotch, two bottles of water and a tumbler with little metal blocks in it.

“What the hell are those?” she asks as he puts everything down on the coffee table.

“Rocks. They keep the Scotch from getting watered down with ice cubes. Give me your hand,” he says taking the tumbler off the top of the boxes. She holds out her hand and he shakes one of the cubes out of the glass and into her palm. It’s a little metal ice cube. It’s bitterly cold as she rolls it around in her hand.

“Refined drinker?” she says joking a little. He smiles as he pours some of the Scotch into the glass. He takes a pull and then hands it to her.

“Just try it.”

“Are you trying to get me drunk? All I’ll do is sleep and mutter obscenities.”

Steve tries not to laugh, fails, and puts the drink in her hand anyway. She takes a cautionary sip and shudders. He gives her a nonplussed look.

“You set yourself up to believe you wouldn’t like it,” he says as he plates the pizza.

“Oh for fucks sake, Steve. Don’t give me that self fulfilling prophecy garbage. It’s Scotch.”

“Says the girl who has only ever drank rotgut, bottom shelf Scotch and not the good stuff.”

“The good stuff,” she repeats as he hands her a plate and a bottle of water. “Define _good stuff_.”

“The stuff they import that costs almost $500.”

She chokes on her water. Steve quickly sits next to her and gently pats her on the back. When she stops choking he goes to rubbing her back slowly.

“Are you alright?” he asks, the concern in his voice coming through loud and clear.

“You’re drinking $500 worth of Scotch,” she rasps.

“No, this one was only $50.”

She’s torn between kicking him in the leg and laughing.

“What the hell?” she asks. He grins and she starts to laugh.

“It was $500, honestly. It was a gift from Tony,” he admits as he grabs his own pizza and sits next to her on the big couch. She crosses her legs so she’s sitting Indian style, her knee rubbing against his thigh.

“He must like you,” she says and then takes a bite of pizza.

“We have our moments. He’s a good man. He gets a bad rap because of how he comes off to people.”

“Kind of like you, huh?”

“What do you mean?” he asks, dropping the pizza back onto the plate. He looks upset.

“There’s Captain America the righteous dude and there’s you, the smartass who makes his friend drink shitty Scotch.”

“It’s not shitty,” he says looking down at his plate. She can see he’s smiling like a fool and there’s a faint flush of color on his cheeks.

“It is shitty,” she persists. He laughs.

“Eat your pizza,” he tells her as he starts the movie. She digs in and wolfs down the two slices on her plate in a few minutes. She’s a lot hungrier than she realized.

“You weren’t kidding,” he says putting his plate down and getting her more.

“Just one--”

“Take them both, Hails. If you’re that hungry then just eat. Don’t starve because you think I’m going to be offended.”

She’s not sure what to do. She’s beyond hungry and could easily polish off these two slices and probably a fifth, but how’s he going to perceive this? Why the hell does she care? They aren’t dating. She’s not here to impress him on any level - professional or otherwise. Also, he just said he wouldn’t be offended so…

She devours these two slices and thankfully that’s enough to satiate her hunger for the time being.

“Now try the Scotch.”

“Oh come on,” she whines. He nudges her with his shoulder and gives her the glass. She groans loudly and takes a sip.

“Pizza flavored turpentine.”

He laughs and takes the glass back.

“I can’t convince you otherwise on this, huh?”

“No. It’s disgusting. Obviously an acquired taste.”

“Fair enough. Are you finished?” he asks, referring to the pizza.

“Yes, thank you.”

“No problem,” he tells her. He gets up and starts gathering everything up.

“Let me help.”

“I’ve got it. You’re a guest.”

“Steve, let me help,” she insists. He nods reluctantly and Hayley grabs their plates and her empty water bottle while he takes the pizza boxes.

“Can you grab the Scotch, Hails?”

“Got it,” she says picking up the bottle and following him into the kitchen. He puts the pizza boxes on the counter, takes the Scotch and puts it into the cabinet under the sink. Hayley glances an assortment of bottles in there. He takes her empty bottle and the plates, puts the plates in the sink and throws out her bottle. Hayley steps around him and washes the plates off. Steve starts to protest but she flings water at him and he grunts at her.

“Stubborn,” he grumbles. “I can do this.”

“I helped make the mess, I’ll help clean it up,” she states. He leans against the refrigerator watching her, a smile playing on his lips.

“Stubborn,” he says again, taunting her a little.

“Do you torment Sergeant Barnes like this?”

“Nope.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she says flinging water drops at him again. He wrinkles his nose and tosses the dish towel to her.

“He does stupid shit to me all the time.”

“I’m certain it is completely one-sided in that regard,” she says with mild sarcasm.

“It is.”

“Okay.”

“We’re missing the movie. I’ll restart it. Come on,” he says leading her back to the living room.

They resume their seats on the large couch that Hayley can’t get over how comfortable it is.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says looking at him in surprise.

“You’re fidgeting.”

“I like your couch.”

“Heh.”

“I feel bad for Sergeant Barnes.”

“Don’t you dare. He starts shit all the time.”

“And I’ve heard you throw boxes of cereal at him.”

Steve’s mouth drops and Hayley watches as he tries to counter her statement with one of his own. He can’t and eventually closes his mouth and feigns pouting. She cracks up laughing. Hayley can’t remember the last time she’d laughed this much or had this much fun with someone.

“He deserved it. Just so you know.”

“I’m sure he did, Steve,” she says patting his knee.

They sit quietly for a while watching the movie. Steve starts shifting and fidgeting after a while trying to find a comfortable spot.

“Who’s fidgeting now?” she teases. He grunts in response and then sighs dejectedly.

“Can I ask you something?” he says leaning his head back against the couch and focusing on her.

“Sure,” Hayley says with a shrug of her shoulders. She waits for him to say something but he’s quiet. She looks away from the TV and he’s studying her, his brow is furrowed and his eyes are a little darker.

“What’s wrong?” she asks him.

“I don’t want you to think I asked you to watch a movie just to get you to do something.”

“Wow. Okay…” she says feeling really uneasy all of the sudden. This is _not_ where she thought things would go.

“No! No! God, not that! No!” he says sitting up straight. “No, Hayley, I just...it felt really good when we were in the common room and you were trying to get me to feel better…”

Hayley relaxes. He’s not after a piece of ass after all.

“The holding your head part or playing with your hair part?” she asks.

“Yes. Both. It felt amazing and it’s not something...I didn’t want to make this weird…”

“Go get a pillow.”

His face lights up. He scrambles off the couch and disappears back to the bedroom. He comes back a few seconds later with a pillow and a big smile on his face. He hands her the pillow, she puts it down and he lays down, gently resting his head in her lap until he’s sure he’s good.

“Can I play with your hair?” she asks as a sort of jest. He turns himself to look at her.

“You don’t ever have to ask, Hails.”

She smiles and he turns back on his side, a big grin on his face. She runs her fingers through his hair and he gives her a happy sigh.

“Who’s going to do this for you when I’m gone?” she asks.

“No one I guess. I’ll just have to wait for you to come back.”

He doesn’t understand what she’s getting at. Now isn’t the time. He’s happy, she’s happy, why ruin it? This is one of the more content moments she’s had in her life and she’s not willing to screw it up.

There’s a comfortable silence now. The movie plays while Hayley absently strokes Steve’s hair.

Mel Gibson’s character starts running around the farmhouse screaming about how he’s insane with anger and the two of them start to laugh.

“Please tell me what you thought of this movie before this insanity goes any further,” she begs. Steve chuckles.

“It’s alright. Not _Alien_ quality by any regard, but it wasn’t bad.”

“Do we ever get to see the aliens?”

“I won’t ruin that for you, Hails.”

“That means no.”

He turns himself so he’s on his back and looking up at her. There’s a hint of a smile on his plump lips. She cocks an eyebrow at him and his smile grows.

“Is that what you think?” he asks.

“That is what I think, yes.”

“Hmm,” he grunts and looks over at the screen. She pats his chest and he looks back at her.

“Sit up for a minute, babe.”

“Are you leaving? I’ll tell you what happens,” he says trying to bargain with her. Hayley laughs.

“I have to pee.”

He blushes furiously and sits up. He pauses the movie and she heads back to the bathroom.

As she’s washing her hands she realizes she slipped and called him _babe_. This probably didn’t go unnoticed. She’s got to be more careful. He may want to be friends but he’s still her commanding officer, he’s still the guy in charge.

“Shit,” she mumbles under her breath. How is it possible she got this comfortable this quick with someone?

“Voodoo,” she whispers secretively. Has to be. No other explanation.

She heads back out to the living room and Steve’s not there. She purses her lips and debates for a moment if she should stay or if she should leave and save herself further embarrassment.

“I got you more water. Unless you want a Gatorade,” Steve says coming back into the living room. He doesn’t seem phased by what happened which is fantastic. Hopefully that means he didn’t hear her.

“Water is fine, thanks,” she says taking the bottle from him. He looks at her quizzically.

“Babe?” he questions.

“Goddammit,” she groans. He starts to laugh.

“It’s a term of endearment. I get it. I get called that by baristas, cashiers, bank tellers...maybe we just don’t do it in public yet?” he suggests. To say that Hayley is surprised by this would be an understatement.

“It slipped, Steve, I shouldn’t have--”

“We had this problem early this morning,” he cuts in, “I don’t want to go through this again. I don’t mind it. It means you’re comfortable with me. I think. Yes?”

He’s right.

“A little too comfortable, Steve. I don’t want to offend you or put either of us in a compromising position.”

“Last night would have been compromising if anything. I don’t think it was. You calling me babe I don’t think is compromising so long as it’s the right place at the right time. Not on a mission. Not in front of the other recruits or agents. Maybe in front of the other Avengers after a while…”

She still feels like an ass.

She sees him tilt his head till it’s almost on his shoulder.

“Stop,” she says trying not to laugh.

“Stop dwelling. I like hanging around with you. I haven’t laughed this much with someone other than Bucky in god knows how long.”

“Sergeant Barnes laughs?”

“I’m telling him you don’t think he does.”

She shrugs.

“I doubt they’ll team us up, so be my guest,” she says daring him. Steve gets an evil grin on his face.

“Just for that, I’m making him do sparring with you tomorrow.”

“You asshole!”

Steve starts laughing that same deep from his gut laugh she’d heard him do in the gym. Once more she’s amused at how happy he sounds.

“I just called my commanding officer an asshole,” she says stunned. The humor starts to fade for her.

“Knock it off, _Agent_ ,” Steve teases. “Come on. Come watch the rest of this crap with me. I can’t stay up till four again. I’ll be lucky if I make it to eleven.”

“You’re showing your age,” she says. She’s testing the waters still, seeing what he’ll do. He skews an eyebrow at her and before Hayley can blink he’s picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She’s laughing so hard she can’t breathe. He drops her on the couch and then flops down beside her.

“Sparring. With Barnes. Tomorrow,” he threatens. She’s still laughing and she can’t stop.

He starts laughing again.

The two of them sit there laughing like dumbasses for the longest time. They’d stop, one of them would giggle, and it starts all over again.

By the time they do stop they’re both panting and clutching their sides.

“Jesus Christ, Hails. Did I hit a nerve when I picked you up?” he asks as he leans back into the couch. There are tears in his eyes from laughing.

“I don’t know what you did.”

“Ticklish?”

“Nope.”

“I call bullshit.”

“It’s toll free so go ahead.”

They start laughing again.

They finally settle down and both of them are leaned back into the super comfy couch.

“Want me to hold your head?” she offers. He beams at her. She puts the pillow in her lap and Steve drops his head down into the pillow.

“You really like this, don’t you?”

“Love it. Best thing ever. I can’t tell you how good it feels.”

“I know how good it feels, babe. Why do you think girls like having their hair played with?” she asks, teasing him a bit.

He rolls over and looks at her.

“I never thought about that,” he says. “You’re hair is always pulled back, though.”

“It is.”

“Do you ever not have it pulled back?”

“Bedtime.”

“Can I see?”

“I’m not going to bed, Steve.”

“Listen, smartass…”

She giggles and pulls her hair out of the ponytail. She combs her fingers through it a few times trying to get the ponytail bend out. It doesn’t help much.

“You should keep it down.”

“So it covers more of my face?”

He frowns at her.

“No, Hayley,” he says firmly, “because it looks nice.”

“Watch the movie, Steve. You told me there would be aliens.”

“I did not.”

“So there are no aliens?”

“I didn’t say that either.”

“Hmmm.”

“Brat.”

=======================================================================================

It’s just after ten when Hayley bids Steve goodnight and leaves to go back to her own quarters. Steve shuts the door and rubs his face. He’s wishing he’d just told her to crash on the couch. They practically fell asleep there anyway.

He trudges back to the bathroom to clean up and get ready for bed. His face and his sides are still tender from the laughing fits he and Hayley had throughout her visit. He’s never laughed that much with a girl. Never.

He’s struck with a creative idea and goes to his desk. He sits down and spends the next hour sketching Hayley. When he’s finished he gets up and heads to bed.

The last thing he thinks of is how she had called him babe and how much he had liked it.

The sound of his phone chirping and vibrating across the nightstand wakes Steve up. It’s Bucky.

“What?” he asks groggily.

“Run?”

“Time?”

“After five. How late were you two up?” Bucky asks with a hint of mischievousness.

“She left at ten, jerk.”

“Aww. Are you going running or am I going to pass Sam by myself?”

This makes Steve grin. The “ _on your left”_ joke has been expanded to Bucky saying “ _on your right_ ” while passing Sam on the right. Sam can’t stand it.

“Yeah. Let me get dressed.”

“I’ll be over in a minute,” Bucky threatens. Steve hangs up and rolls out of bed. He grabs sweats and barely has the jogging pants pulled on when Bucky’s beating on his door.

“FRIDAY, open the door for Buck.”

“Yes, Captain Rogers.”

“Come on, kid. You’re always busting my balls…”

Bucky stops talking and Steve hops out to the living room still pulling on his socks to see what’s going on. Bucky is sitting at Steve’s desk looking at the sketch book.

“You’re getting really good, Steve. Impressively good,” Bucky muses as he looks at the most recent sketch. “This was from last night?”

“Yeah.”

“She’s laughing, right?”

“She is. I about threw up because we were laughing so hard.”

Bucky chuckles.

“She looks like she shines when she laughs, Steve. You caught all the details here.”

“She does. She’s funny as hell, Buck.”

“She must be if you almost puked,” Bucky jests. “Think you can make time for us to hang out?”

“You _are_ jealous,” Steve taunts him. Bucky glares at him.

“I’m not the one who won’t admit I have feelings for this girl,” Bucky fires back. Steve’s momentarily stunned.

“I don’t have feelings for her, Buck. Not like you’re suggesting, you jealous asshole. She’s just a friend.”

Bucky shakes his head not believing what Steve’s saying.

“We’re going to miss our window to get to Sam,” Steve says getting his sneakers.

“Just for the record,” Bucky says as they leave, “I’m not jealous of her. I just don’t want you to forget you have other friends.”

“I’m not going to forget you, Buck,” Steve says feeling hurt by Bucky’s words. “I didn’t forget you when they thawed me out, I’m not going to forget you now, man.”

Bucky gives him a timid smile and they head outside. Steve understands this manifestation of Bucky’s jealousy is because Steve is all Bucky has. It’s the same for Steve and Steve isn’t going to let anything come between him and his brother.

===================================================================================

Hayley is bored to the point of tears. This shit with the code cracking is a goddamn repeat of the course they made her take already. She is not learning anything new. She is not getting anything done. That’s when she decides to tune into the almost non stop whispering she hears coming from behind her and to her left.

“Micah says Cap had his head in her lap. Can you believe that?”

“Was he...ya know?”

“If he was she wasn’t enjoying it.”

“She was clothed, so no, he wasn’t muff diving,” a third person hisses, entering this ludicrous gossip.

“What _were_ they doing?”

“You know she’s right there, right? She can hear you.”

Hayley turns around slowly for dramatic effect and glares at the people talking. One of them she recognizes as Agent Barton. The other two gasp and slide backwards quickly like Hayley may lunge for their throats. Hayley turns back around, an evil smirk on her face.

“Told you,” she hears Barton chuckle.

Hayley sits through the remainder of the class doodling on the notepad she has. She wonders what Steve’s doing right now. She’s also wondering if she should tell him about the skuttlebutt she’s hearing about them. Or if Barton will.

The class finally ends and she waits for the gossip girls to exit the room first. Barton is waiting on her.

“Is it true?” he asks, a coy smile on his face.

“Is what true, Agent Connery-Malkovich-Barton?”

“I should have teamed up with you instead of Winters on that last mission. You remembered those names I used. You’re a fucking pistol, aren’t you?”

“Tend to carry one. Standard issue.”

“Is it true?” he asks again.

“Is what true?” she asks, stopping in her tracks and facing him. He grins.

“You took the kill shot in Bangalore that took out that warlord?”

Not the question she was expecting from him.

“If you mean I neutralized the threat, yes.”

“Modesty,” he laughs. “What were you doing in that class?”

”I could ask you the same thing.”

“Same as you. All the Avengers are expected to go through it as well as the new recruits and apparently our seasoned agents, too,” he explains. “Not sure why they made you take it twice, though.”

Hayley shrugs.

“You don’t talk much do you?” he asks as they start walking again. “You didn’t talk to Connery or Malkovich either.”

“I tend to stick to myself. Especially where multiple personalities are involved.”

Barton nods his head. Their phones go off almost simultaneously.

“Natasha. Who’s paging you?” Barton asks trying to see.

“Agent Hill. Excuse me, Agent Connery-Malkovich-Barton,” Hayley says going back the other way.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Barton calls after her. She shakes her head having no clue what the hell he’s talking about.

She gets to Hill’s office and is handed a dossier with a mission. There are two other recruits/agents in the office with her.

“You’re going with Agent Sixty-two and Agent Ninety,” Hill explains. “It’s recon. Get in and get out.”

Hayley looks at the other two agents and then at Hill.

“I can handle this on my own,” she says flatly.

“Wait outside,” she orders the other two agents. They nod and exit the room. “Captain Rogers wants to have you work with other agents. Agent Barton has also suggested this. You can’t be a loner while you’re here, Agent Thirteen. We need team players.”

“Then you should find someone who is a team player. That’s not what I was trained for,” Hayley replies gruffly. Hill gets up from her chair and leans over her desk.

“I have three Avengers telling me that you’re good enough to be here, Agent. Three. I’m going to knock that down to two because one of them I’ve heard isn’t thinking clearly. The other two have witnessed your work first hand. I’m taking their word for it. We _need_ you and I expect you to man up and not whine about taking missions with other agents.”

Hayley bristles at Maria’s words.

“Look, I get it,” she says sitting back down, “you’ve been solo for a long time. It’s a hard habit to break. This isn’t coming from me, this comes from Director Fury.”

“Indefinitely,” Hayley grumbles.

“Unless you ask to be reassigned, Agent, and even that may not work. Stick it out. There are agents and recruits that would give anything to have this opportunity.”

“They can have it.”

“Give it a chance,” Maria says again. “You may learn to like working with other people and not moving around so much.”

Hayley takes that as her cue that she’s being dismissed. She’s not happy. She’s pissed, if she’s being honest. Then she sees Steve.

“Agents,” he says being cordial to them. “Do you have a moment, Agent Thirteen?” he asks.

“Yes, Sir,” she says and there’s a momentary slump in his shoulders. “I’ll meet you two in the hangar. Fifteen minutes and we’re out the door,” she tells them. They blink.

“Yes, ma’am. Pleasure to see you, Captain America,” one of them gushes.

“It’s Captain _Rogers_ ,” the other one corrects and then gives Steve a flirtatious smile. He nods and they run off like little kids. Steve checks up and down the hall and then takes her hand and pulls her to an empty conference room.

“I heard you got called--”

“I heard you’ve been telling Agent Hill that I need to be more of a team player.”

“I did,” he says calmly, “because you do. You’re a damn good agent, Hayley--”

“I work alone, Captain Rogers. I was trained to be a solo agent. To do the job and get out.”

He flinches when she calls him _Captain Rogers_.

“I’m aware of that and that will still play a role here with us. But you need to learn to work with others, you need to learn to trust the people you’re with and to rely on them to help with the missions. You don’t have to do this alone,” he tries to explain. Hayley isn’t having it.

“Relying on someone is the fastest way to end up getting hurt. Trusting someone is the fastest way to end up in a grave,” she says coldly. Steve steps back from her. She doesn’t care. This was a set up. This whole thing with him was a set up.

“You trust me,” he tells her.

“I have to get my gear, permission to be excused, Sir?”

Steve looks like Hayley just punched him.

“Be safe, Hayley,” he says leaving the room.

She counts to ten and then exits after him. Her blood is boiling over this. He set her up to keep her here because her track record speaks for itself. Not because he actually wanted to be her friend. Not because he actually wanted to get to know her. No. He wanted someone they wouldn’t have to waste time training. Someone who knows the game and is able to do what needs to be done. Someone who can follow orders. Someone who can run the missions and get the results. Someone like Agent Thirteen. Adding her to the team means they only have to acclimate her to working with the others. Easier than training a newb from scratch.

She’s still seething when she boards the jet.

“I get to be your...pilot...who pissed in your Cheerios?” Barton asks. She gives him a cold look and he shakes his head.

“Strap in,” he tells them. Hayley takes a seat away from the other two agents and tries to focus on the dossier.

================================================================================

Steve sits at the pub with Bucky and Sam only half watching the game.

“Don’t let it get to you,” Sam says for the hundredth time. “She’s a loner. You can’t expect her to change just like that,” he says snapping his fingers.

“Shut up, Sam,” Bucky tells him.

“I’m just sayin’--”

“Sam,” Bucky warns him again, “Shut. Up.”

Bucky knows Steve better than anyone and he knows Steve’s taking this latest argument with Hayley hard. And yet Steve keeps insisting that the two of them are just friends. Steve’s adamant about it, getting incredibly flustered with Bucky and now Sam when they say anything to the contrary. Maybe that’s all Steve thinks it is, some sort of male/female friendship thing. Bucky’s pretty sure he’s in love with Thirteen, but he’s never seen Steve act like this before so he can’t be certain.

Sam bids them farewell so he can go on his date leaving Bucky and Steve in the pub.

“Sure you don’t want to talk about it, kid? No judgements, I’ll keep my comments to myself.”

“There’s nothing to talk about, Buck.”

“I saw your sketches, Steve. The flames in her eyes are frightening.”

He huffs out a sad little laugh.

“She’s going to erase Hayley.”

“No she won’t.”

He looks up at Bucky, deadset in his belief of this.

“Steve, what the hell makes you think she’s going to do that?”

“Clint’s worked with her twice, he’s says she’s got the personality of a wet door mat. Natasha worked with her and said that she only gets one word answers for the most part otherwise Hayley stays quiet. I don’t see her talking to anyone else. I _know_ you’ve heard the others talking about her.”

“Skuttlebutt. Yeah, I hear things. She took the shot on that guy in Bangalore. She’s known as the Stone Leopard.”

“What?” Steve asks. The questions in his eyes make Bucky shake his head. “Who told you that?”

“I listen, Steve. They don’t know I’m there.”

Steve nods, acknowledging what Bucky is saying. Bucky moves in stealth, like he was trained to do. It’s a carryover from HYDRA.

“Stone Leopard,” Steve mumbles. “Why?”

“She doesn’t have friends. Doesn’t associate with people much if at all. Associates would be a stretch for her. You looked in her file.”

“Cursory glance.”

“You were looking at her picture, Steve, be honest,” Bucky says calling Steve on his bullshit. Steve sighs, picks up a french fry and then puts it back down. He hasn’t touched his lunch. Not one bite.

“You looked in her file I take it.”

“I did,” Bucky says before he takes some of Steve’s fries. “She was trained to be a solo agent, Steve. From the start that’s what they wanted her for. Not someone who had to rely on others to do a job. Part of her file was scrubbed. Did you notice that?” Bucky asks. He’s been curious about that since he saw it. How exactly does one scrub someone’s file? His file couldn’t be scrubbed, how’d they do hers?

Steve looks up at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

“How...what the hell do you mean _scrubbed_?”

“Scrubbed. Missing. There’s gaps in time. She’s been with then since she was twelve. There’s chunks missing.”

“Who the hell would scrub her file?”

“Maybe she did. I’d like to know how she did it, though,” Bucky admits. “Eat your food.”

“I’m not hungry. You can’t _scrub_ a file...Can you? No. They’d have scrubbed yours, Nat’s, possibly mine…”

“Right, that’s what makes it so fucking weird. You need to eat, Steve.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I don’t fucking care,” Bucky growls, “eat your goddamn food.”

“This isn’t 1940, Buck, and I’m not some skinny kid who can barely take care of himself,” Steve snaps.

“No, but you took better care of yourself then than you are now.”

Steve snorts at him and takes a half hearted bite of his sandwich. He ends up eating all of it. Bucky grins a little. He knew Steve was hungry even if Steve didn’t.

“Who do we talk to about her file?” Steve asks after a few minutes. “Not Maria. Maybe not Natasha either.”

“Barton.”

Steve nods in agreement.

“He’s had the most contact with her,” Bucky continues.

“He’s flying her and the other two agents to their destination.”

“Is he coming back?”

Steve gets his phone. Bucky sees him pull up Natasha’s number.

“Hey...I know...I heard the rumors...does it matter?...Jesus Christ, Natasha, I was asleep on the couch...Stop it...You’re as bad as Bucky...When’s Barton coming back?”

Steve’s got a little bit of a smile on his face which means Natasha is dying to find out what happened and Steve’s only going to give her that little bit and it’s driving Nat nuts.

Steve hangs up.

“He’s on his way back now. She’s not going to let this go.”

“That’s up to you what you tell her, kid. She’ll judge you for it, but she won’t gossip about you like the hens do.”

Steve gives Bucky a tired look.

“What did I do wrong this time?”

“Don’t know, Stevie,” Bucky says putting the tip under his beer glass. “Maybe she wants a friend who isn’t going to undermine what she does.”

“I wasn’t.”

Bucky shakes his head no, a clear indication that Steve is wrong. Steve groans.

“Okay, I wasn’t _trying_ to,” Steve corrects himself. “I want her to be able to stay here and that means she has to be willing and able to work with us as a team.”

“Next time,” Bucky says as they head outside, “talk to her first. Or me. You did the same shit to me.”

This floors Steve. His jaw comes unhinged and he just stares at Bucky. Bucky hasn’t seen this blank look in seventy years. Not since he first caught Steve trying to forge his way into the Army.

“Buck--”

“Let it go, kid,” he says pushing Steve lightly to get him to move. “Just talk to her. Us. That’s all.”

=========================================================================================

Hayley is watching the other two agents try and figure out where the turn signal fluid goes in their vehicle. She knows it’s a mean thing to do, but it’ll keep them distracted long enough for her to slip into the building they’ve been staking out and get what they came for.

“Eyes and ears open,” she tells them. “Comms on. Figure this out. I’ll be back shortly.”

Hayley is true to her word. Donning one of the maintenance uniforms they’d lifted, she sneaks in through the service entrance and makes her way through the building. She comes across very few people, and when they give her a sideways glance she waves and speaks meekly in Polish to them. They don’t give her a second glance after that. Morons.

She gets what she’s after and is almost home free when she hears one of the agents screaming into her comm. She yanks it out of her ear before she goes deaf and bolts to the exit.

She gets outside and sees the other two agents now have some friends. At least three of them are from inside the building. Covert. She shouldn’t have to explain to them what the fuck that means.

She can hear the small crowd asking questions in Latvian. Sixty-two is drawing a blank and repeating _English_ over and over again. Agent Ninety isn’t doing any better, waving his hand around and flinging blood everywhere.

Hayley sheds the maintenance getup and disposes of it quickly before making her approach.

“What happened?” she hisses to Ninety as she grabs his wounded hand and holds him still.

“She turned on the car while my hand was in the engine,” he whines. Jesus fucking…

Hayley speaks to the crowd quickly in what little Latvian she knows saying she will take her brother to the doctor because he’s stupid. This gets a few chuckles from the men standing around and a more than a few wary looks from those that were in the building she just snuck out of.

“Get in the fucking car,” she hisses in Ninety’s ear. He does as he’s told and climbs into the front seat. Hayley grabs Sixty-two and hisses for her to get into the car and that’s when she sees the people from the office draw their weapons.

“ _GET IN THE FUCKING CAR NOW!”_ she barks as she pulls her own weapon. Shots are fired as Sixty-two ducks down and climbs into the driver’s side. Hayley scrambles to get into the back as Sixty-two punches the gas and barrels through the crowd.

“Keep your heads down!” Hayley orders as bullets pelt the small sedan. She shoots out the back window and starts firing. Sixty-two’s driving is so erratic that she’s not able to aim properly and is either just clipping their assailants or missing them entirely. Moving target my ass, she thinks.

“Get us to the rendezvous point,” Hayley commands as she reloads. They’re being followed, all black SUVs with tinted windows. This little sedan doesn’t stand a chance.

She aims for the tires, watching as the rubber explodes and shreds making the bulky SUVs swerve and crash.

“He’s bleeding everywhere,” Sixty-two says starting to panic.

“Fuck,” Hayley mutters. She double checks that there aren’t any more vehicles following them and then drapes herself over the passenger seat to try and bandage Ninety’s hand and slow the bleeding.

She could have done this alone. What a fucking bunch of bullshit.

She doesn’t see the SUV headed for the passenger door until it’s too late. It plows into them sending Hayley careening to the other side of the car. The pain is instant but she has no time for it. She sees three men armed with assault rifles getting out of the SUV. She doesn’t think, she just aims and fires in rapid succession. Three head shots before they can start shooting. Two more SUVs are heading for them. Hayley’s bleeding from a wound on her head and it’s trying to get into her eye. She wipes the blood away and tries to get to the other two agents before they get shredded by bullets. Neither of them are moving but thankfully still breathing. She can’t get to them both and this looks like it’s about to end in a shit storm.

There’s an explosion and the SUVs are launched into the air. She hears a chopper overhead and then she sees Romanov.

“How badly are you hurt?” she asks as she yanks the driver’s side doors open. Hayley topples out and staggers to her feet. Romanov reaches out and touches Hayley’s head and the world goes gray for a second.

“Shit. Can you help me get them?”

Hayley trundles around to the other side and somehow manages to pull Ninety through the shattered window and onto the ground. The chopper lands with a cyclone of debris blowing around them and Romanov and Hayley get the wounded agents and themselves onto the chopper just as more SUVs and a ton of armoured trucks start descending on them.

“Get us up, Clint!” Romanov yells. The chopper ascends into the air and starts to speed away as Hayley hears gunfire.

“Shit. Hang on, Hayley,” Romanov says as the medic on the chopper works on the other two agents. All Hayley wants to do is take a nap now.

======================================================================================

“All we know right now is that something went wrong, their cover was blown and the three of them are hurt. Sixty-two and Ninety were unconscious--”

“Where is Hayley?” Steve demands angrily.

“She’s with them. Possible head trauma, we don’t know what other wounds she may have sustained,” Maria tells him.

“How long till they land?” Steve asks through clenched teeth. Hayley is hurt and he’s blaming himself for this.

“ETA three minutes.”

Steve leaves Maria and runs to the hangar. Bucky is waiting there for him.

“I heard. She’s alive, just hurt. It’s okay,” Bucky says trying to ease Steve’s mind. Steve doesn’t respond. Several members of the medical team show up with gurneys. Three of them. Steve’s stomach rolls menacingly. How badly is she hurt? What the fuck happened?

The warbird lands and he and Bucky are shoved out of the way by the medical team. Steve sees them cart off all two of the agents, but he doesn’t see Hayley. What if she didn’t make it? Panic holds him in its icy claws now.

He sees Nat get out of the bird and then Clint and finally...Hayley. Her head is bandaged and he can see a bright red spot.

“Shit,” he groans as he runs to her.

“Hayley!”

“Fuck me,” he hears her mutter. “Captain Rogers, Sir.”

Natasha is biting her lip, trying to keep from laughing and Clint is rolling his eyes.

“She needs to get checked by medical,” Natasha says. “You can ask questions after she’s cleared.”

Bucky pulls Steve back so that Natasha can help Hayley to medical.

“Clint--”

“Calm down, Steve,” Clint says putting his hands up. “I’ll tell you what I know. I need a drink. Let’s go.”

Steve walks with Clint and Bucky, impatiently waiting for Clint to tell him what the hell happened.

They get to the kitchen and Bucky chases any straggling agent/recruits out with a menacing growl. They scatter from the former Winter Soldier.

“What. Happened.”

“It should have been routine. She knew what she was doing. Thirteen, I mean. She could have done this alone, but that’s neither here nor there,” Clint says sounding guilty.

“And?” Bucky asks.

“From what I heard her tell Nat, she knew she could do this easier on her own so she had the other two greenies looking for…” he stops and starts to laugh. Bucky and Steve look at each other.

“Look for what?!” Steve barks.

“Turn signal fluid. In the sedan.”

Steve blinks slowly trying to process what he’s hearing. Bucky just starts laughing.

“Please tell me you’re joking,” Steve mutters.

“Nope. She stole a maintenance uniform after they had staked the building out for a few days and then to keep the greenies distracted she told them to find the turn signal fluid and make sure they weren’t low on it.”

“Turn signal fluid. Are you kidding me?” Bucky howls. “Did they not know that’s not a thing?”

“Apparently not,” Clint snickers.

Steve is not the least bit amused by any of this.

“That doesn’t explain how she got hurt,” Steve growls.

Clint cocks his head and gives Steve a curious look.

“She’s not the only one who got hurt, Steve. And if what she’s saying is true, it’s because those two greenies are...let’s say they’re not real swift. While she was inside getting the intel, which is here,” he says handing Steve a small film canister, “those two were outside fucking around with the sedan. Sixty-two I guess turned on the car while Ninety had his hand somewhere it shouldn’t have been and he ended up getting two of his fingers nearly severed off. He screamed so loud she had to take her comm out which is why she didn’t know we were coming. And the other two never told her backup was enroute. When she got outside they had a small crowd, weapons were pulled, they had to make an escape. They were T-boned by one of the SUVs and that’s how she got hurt and the other two knocked out.”

“Oh my god,” Steve whimpers. “This is my fault.”

“How the fuck is this your fault?” Clint demands. “If anyone is to blame I am for telling Fury that Thirteen needs to be more socialized and to get her out and working with other agents.”

“I told Maria that.”

“This isn’t anyone’s fault,” Bucky says getting up and getting himself a glass of milk. “You both did what you thought was best. You’re both stupid shits, but hey…”

“Thanks, Barnes,” Clint says flipping him off. Bucky shrugs.

“Look, you can’t force someone who works alone to magically be able to work with others. It takes time. And throwing her with people who aren’t ready to be on their own yet isn’t the way to do that,” Bucky says elaborating on his previous statement.

“She should have been sent with one of us,” Steve admits heavily.

“Did you set up who she went with?” Bucky asks before he downs the rest of his milk.

“Fury does,” Clint answers. “We have no control over that. That’s Fury and Maria.”

“There you have it,” Bucky states. “It’s not your fault, it’s not Clint’s fault. It was a mistake.”

=======================================================================================

Hayley’s head is pounding. Severely. Like nauseatingly bad pounding. Defcon Five pounding.

“You look a little green. Let me get you something--”

“I’m fine. Can I go now?” she asks, cutting the medical person off.

“I have to clear it with the doctor.”

“Do that.”

“You should be a little nicer. They’re only trying to help,” Romanov says appearing in the room. Hayley glares at her.

“What can I do for you, Agent Romanov?” Hayley asks, grinding her teeth.

“I came to see how you are,” Romanov answers simply.

“I’m fine.”

“I can see that.”

“How are the other two?”

“Stable. Ninety lost his fingers, but Stark seems to think they can make something for him to use. They’ll use Barnes’ prosthetic arm as their inspiration I’m sure.”

Hayley doesn’t respond. Ninety lost some fingers because of dumb shit that could have been avoided if they had just let her do her fucking job alone. Jesus Christ.

“Fury wants to see you when you’re done. I can come with you if you want,” Romanov offers. Hayley isn’t buying this bullshit act.

“No thank you.”

“The hardest part for me was learning to trust other people. It took Clint forever to get through to me that I don’t have to do this job alone. You don’t either, Hayley.”

Romanov walks away.

Hayley still isn’t buying it. Rogers set her up. Barton set her up. Romanov is trying to set her up. What the fuck do these people want? Total submission? Yes, master. Right away, master.

“Hayley?”

She knows that voice and the blood pressure machine sets off alarms. Rogers looks worried because her BP just spiked. A medical person comes in, looks at the screen and runs out. A doctor comes in a second later.

“Take this,” he says handing her a pill and a small cup of water. “It’s for your blood pressure. Before you give yourself a stroke.”

Steve’s face pales. Hayley downs the pill and gives the doctor his cup back.

“I can’t release you till that comes back down. The longer you sit here pissed off, the longer you’re stuck here,” the doctor tells her. She’s shocked by his brutal honesty. He’s probably like this because of who he has to deal with in here.

The doctor looks at Rogers and then back at Hayley.

“Do you need to be alone?” the doctor asks.

“I just need five minutes,” Rogers almost pleads.

“Three. I hear those alarms go off again and you’re gone. I don’t give a shit if you’re Saint Peter today,” the doctor warns. He exits the area leaving Hayley and Rogers alone.

“How do you--”

“I’ll have the report typed up for you by morning, Sir.”

“Hayley, for fucks’ sake, stop! I’m not here for this Agent Thirteen bullshit--”

“With all due respect, Sir, I’m not sure what you’re after.”

He purses his lips.

“I came to make sure you were okay, Hails.”

“Permission to speak freely, Sir?”

Steve winces.

“Please, stop, Hayley,” he says quietly. “Please.”

She stays silent.

“Hayley...I didn’t want you to get hurt. I didn’t do this to undermine you or to make you feel…” he sighs shakily. “How is your head?”

“Fine, Sir.”

She sees the hurt she’s causing reflect in his blue eyes. This is what he wanted. He wanted an agent, not a friend. Here you go, Captain Rogers, just what you asked for.

“I should have talked to you first...before I said anything to Maria. I’m sorry. Please forgive me, Hayley. I didn’t do this to--”

She watches as her BP spikes again and the alarm goes off. The doctor stalks into the room, glares at Rogers and points to the door. Steve gives Hayley a pleading look, one she returns with coldness. He leaves without another word.

“You, missy, had better calm yourself right the hell down or I’m going to hold you here all night,” the doctor threatens. Hayley rolls her eyes and lays back on the crappy bed.

“Got anything for a headache, doc?”

“Sure, maybe knocking you out for a while will settle you down,” he snarks as he walks off. Figures the only honest person in here is someone who is just as sick of the Avengers’ bullshit as she is.


End file.
